Thrivikramji.K.P. shifted to
Trivandrum Office
of Directorate of Geology
(Work story-4)
Once
I went back to the Chalapuram office, in mid-March, 1967, within the stipulated
time of one week, I finalized the accounts and cleared all the dues to the
office. Completion of the scientific report was the second task. It took hardly
another ten working days or so to submit the same to the geologist boss. By the
end of first week of April, 1967, I was a freed bird. Enjoying gossip and
contributing to the gossip or chats.
Down
south in Trivandrum, by that time the University of Kerala started a search for
two lecturers in the Dept. of Geology. In response to the advertisement, I
filed a c.v. for the job. Yet, I earnestly believed that my chances of bagging
an offer are extremely slim. For one thing, I am far outside of research and
secondly the past experience (if a better qualified person shows up he/she will
walk off with the job). In fact in the 1966 selection, a similar situation
arose and the offer went to a PhD mineralogist. Yet, this time around only
difference is the availability of two slots.
Alongside,
my elder brother a politician without ambitions, through a compatriot of his
was kind of pressing the Director to post me in the Trivandrum office. In
general it is kind of difficult for many bosses to turn away the politicians if
latter are quite determined. In my case, it was precisely so. There was a word
from the Director that I will get top priority for a shift to Trivandrum, if an
opening pops up in the Trivandrum office.
By
the time Iyer completed his filing of the scientific report to the boss, he too
was free. On Sundays and holidays, our driver Mr. Joseph will come to the
Valiyadi estate lodge with a packet of pasteurized milk, like around 6 am or so.
On such occasions, Joseph will take over all chores connected with cooking. He
will buy beef from Meenchanda and all the other stuff to make a decent lunch
for all the three or four of us.
One
Mr. Gopi who instructored carpentry to a vocational institute in the
neighbourhood, had given us some useful lessons about cooking beef curry, in
the earlier days. Mr.Gopi is undoubtedly a connoisseur of good food. His
physical appearance is the branding of his food habit. One useful lesson
Mr.Gopi taught us was how to bringing of packet beef from the butcher at
Meenchanda to Valiyadi estate. The sharp eyed falcons, perched on tall trees
lining the road will be keenly watching from their vantage point, the passersby
down below and will be looking for packets of beef, hand carried to home. The
moment the large bird spots an unwary man or woman with a packet in the
morning, the bird parachutes down to the packet and instantaneously grabs the
packet by its claws to shoot and soar back up. Some unlucky persons, due to this
falcon landing on their bodies lose their balance to fall down on the road and
might even get injured. So Mr. Gopi told us to carry an umbrella open while
coming back with the packet of beef. It was a very useful advice. We instructed
Mr. Joseph to follow Mr. Gopi,s words of wisdom in letter and spirit, to avoid
a fall and to save the beef for making a delicious dish, which he meticulously
practiced.
One
other thing needing record about my Kozhikod life, is about a little girl doing
her assignments, in the verandah of her house adjacent to and on north side of
the road from the third or fourth railway gate to the beach. That street is
known for a large clustering of Gujarathis of Kozhikod. Our team (Iyer, Nair
and I) on certain evenings would take a walk through this street to the beach.
On our way down and up I took note of this cute little girl in her petticoat.
She probably was doing her middle school. However, later on during the Naxal
movement in Kerala, this girl participated in the Pulpally police station
attack. She is Ms.Ajitha, daughter of Mandakini and Kunnikal Narayanan. Now,
Ms. Ajitha leads a NGO, named Anweshi based in Kozhikod, with the noble mission
of protecting the women and women’s causes and rights.
It
was a pleasant surprise for me to have earned a transfer to Trivandrum from
Kozhikod. With the permission and warnings from my geologist boss, I left to
Trivandrum by an and evening bus. In
fact my friends gave me warm hearted send off. At the Kozhikod bus station I
was planning to take the Kannur Deluxe to Trivandrum so that I will be home by
the early dawn. Then, my friends in the bus station advised me to catch the
first available bus to Kochi, so that I can hop into the Kannur Deluxe with no
difficulty at all. The bus will be nearly empty by the time it reaches Kochi. I
did exactly the same thing. I reached Kochi like at 12:30 am and in no time the
deluxe express arrived. I boarded the bus and after buying the ticket started
dozing off. I would become alert only when the driver does a hard brake to stop
the bus or to avoid a certain road situation. I remember having opened my eyes
from sleep at Chertala and thereafter at Alappuzha. After Alappuzha, near
Karuvatta, I suddenly woke up by a very loud thud and a rattling of the bus.
When I became alert I saw the bus turned turtle. In fact inside the bus, I was
standing with my feet on the ceiling of the bus, all the passenger seats kind
of hung from above my head. There were only just 13 passengers and crew. I
heard one woman wailing about her husband’s face with shut eye. The conductor
was loudly shouting about his professional cash bag. Otherwise, it was calm.
Around
4:0 am, the south bound bus, while negotiating a right hand curve, ran across
the northbound lane and plunged into a wayside pond and in that process turned
turtle. Roughly the front half of the bus was under water. But, luckily bus was
not entirely flooded but for the front end. In minutes I started shouting that
the driver might be drowned to death as his seat was fully under water. In the
next, instance I saw the man walking on his legs from the water in the pond,
with his gold chain in tact around his neck. In fact, one older official, a
security officer of the Bus Corporation died by drowning inside the bus as he
himself was seated in a VIP seat or seat one in the bus. My seat was 13 and I
sat without my shoes on.
The
bus was surrounded by members of the local community. I got my composure back
and walked toward the main door of the bus which is at the rear left side. I
had only a tote bag with me, but never worried about my pair of shoes. Also I
was very eager to get out of the scene, as I had left one day earlier to my
official departure from Kozhikod. The crowd shouted at me to get out of the bus.
Then suddenly the bus pivoted on the edge of the embankment started sort wobbling
or mildly rocking. So I was afraid to get out of the bus fearing that if I was
keeping the bus at stable equilibrium, my walking out might make the bus
overturn on me. I was mortally afraid of taking that decision to get out. In
fact some member of the crowd literally grabbed me out of the bus.
The
next moment I saw yet another bus of the bus corporation, making a sudden stop
across the road at the sight mishap. I saw the crew walking toward the capsized
bus and spotted a familiar face among the three member crew, i.e., a person who
lived in the Valiyadi estate lodge. After informing him, I boarded that bus and
headed to Trivandrum.There is a specific reason for this early morning escape
from the scene of accident. If stayed back my name will go to the passenger
list of the ill fated bus in the next day’s news paper. I did not want any one
the Trivandrum office to know that I did travel one day earlier from Kozhikod
unofficially, putting the geologist boss to answer some inconvenient questions
raised by the Diretorate at Trivandrum. My decision to board another Trivandrum
bound bus, took me home by about seven o clock in the morning. The next day was
a Friday and stayed home till dusk.
On
the following Monday, I went to the directorate to report and take charge. I had
plenty of advice to behave correctly as the director was already fuming with my
presence, as I earned the shift to Trivandrum politically and against the will
of the boss. Within two months of my work in the Trivandrum office, I received
a letter directing me and another Nair who was still at the Kozhikod office, to
join the newly created ground water wing of the Agriculture department. There was
some more paper work to be concluded. I was pretty much decided on joining the
new Ground Water Cell. The Nair joined the GW Cell finally, while I went to
take up a lecturer’s job.
Due
to that delay I was send to a drilling camp for clay at Sasthamkotta, on the
east shore of the Sasthamkotta kayal. The rig was setup in the property of a
political-activist (Kerala Congress), one Mr Thomas at Muthuvila, on the eastside
of Sasthamkotta-Kallada rd.. I chose to be a paying guest in their house. The
home faced easterly overlooking the Chittumala kayal.
While
I was in the camp, I like others, would go home during alternate weekends but unofficially.
On one of my visits, amma gave me a letter which wanted me to appear for an
interview in the University for selecting lecturers. The geologist in charge of
drilling got permission for me or approval from higher ups to go on a day’s
leave from the camp to attend the interview.
That
Critical day arrived and I appeared for the interview. I had questions from
experts like Prof. Viswanathaih (Mysore U), Prof. MGC Naidu (SV U) and Prof.
CKN Nair (Agri. College). My Prof. KK Menon though sat in the committee did not
ask any. The Dean of Faculty, Prof. A. Abraham had one or two questions. For
one thing there were absolutely no erroneous answers. Several others also appeared
before the selection committee.
After
the interview which lasted for about 20 min., in the forenoon, I went back home
in town, just to change clothes and sat down for a lunch. For the questions
about my chance to be selected I said it was fifty-fifty game. In the evening,
around four pm or so, I was walking past the University College. I noticed a
car went past but very close to me to come to a complete halt. The person
driving the car hailed me toward him. It was shri.KVK Nair one of my teachers
in the MSc class.
From
his seat the car, I was told that Prof. Menon was looking for me after their
lunch, but felt sort of bad due to my absence anywhere near Department. In
reply I informed Shri.KVK, that right away I will walk down to Prof. Menon's
home. The walk down hardly took only 20 min., and once I entered the gated
compound, I saw the expert professors and Prof. Menon. I was mildly reprimanded
for not staying back to see this special crowd outside of the interview. Then
after pause, Prof. Viswanathaiah announced with the permission of the other
two, that I was in the appointable list. I got to work hard and earn a
doctorate in Geology and teach and train younger people.
I
was indeed happy beyond words could describe. I landed finally in my chosen field;
my passion was for teaching and researching. I walked back home with boundless
joy and the new achievement equally enthused my parents and brother. The
following day, in the early morning, I got back to the camp. And attended my
duties till the drilling camp closed after 45 days. Mr.Thomas and family, in
Muthupilakad, also congratulated me at the selection.
In
the office on return from the camp, I walked into the director’s chamber to report
the new grab I made. That man did not care to look at my face or to offer a
seat, instead he continued with whatever signing he was doing. When I received
a memo from the university signed by the Registrar asking me to join and take
charge as lecturer, my office asked me to give a written request for relieving
me to join the new job. The Director’s office also insisted that the letter
seeking relief shall have a statement that I will not demand any future claims
for any job in the Directorate of Geology. I prepared the letter the way the
boss wanted. But I was relieved of the job to join me as lecturer in the university
on the FN of 18-3-68. A wonderful transition for much better stuff in future.
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